


Of Kilts, Rainbows and Happy Endings

by fifty_fifty



Series: Pride, Rainbows and Happily Ever Afters [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Pendragon Returns (Merlin), Boys Kissing, Fondling, Gay Pride, Hand Jobs, Idiots in Love, Kilts, M/M, Modern Era, Post-Canon, Pride, Pride Parades
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 07:00:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20111032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fifty_fifty/pseuds/fifty_fifty
Summary: It’s Arthur’s first ever Pride and Merlin is wearing a kilt.





	Of Kilts, Rainbows and Happy Endings

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Camelot Drabble Prompt #368 - Pride
> 
> Yeah, I took the prompt pretty literally. But hey, it was Pride month when this prompt was set, and yesterday was my local Pride, so it seemed like an appropriate time to give this an edit and pop it up here.
> 
> This basically a bit of a continuation of [A Moment of Pride](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15480510), but you don’t need to read it to understand this fic.
> 
> Artwork should be coming shortly of Merlin and Arthur at Pride . :)

“Come on, Merlin!” called Arthur. “Aren’t you ready yet?”

“In a minute!” Merlin called back from the bathroom. “I’m almost done!”

“Done?”

“Yeah,” said Merlin, his voice suddenly louder as he appeared in the doorway. “How do I look?”

Arthur surveyed him with a raised eyebrow. Merlin was wearing a white T-Shirt with rainbow colours, with some kind of skirt with folds in it similar to the ones he’d seen women wearing on the street. It was black and hidden amongst the pleats were all the colours of the rainbow, and he'd paired it with a stout pair of black leather boots that went half-way up his calves. They were strangely reminiscent of the ones he had worn once upon a time back in Camelot with all the buckles and straps on them. Arthur couldn’t help but smile fondly at them. 

His eyes were outlined in black, like Morgana and other noble women had done for feasts, and his hair had been neatly styled. Which was a bit of a miracle really, because normally Merlin could barely even run a comb through his hair in the mornings. That was to say nothing about the colours of a rainbow that he had smeared on his cheeks drawing attention to his ridiculously sharp cheekbones.

“Are you wearing a skirt?” Arthur asked incredulously.

Merlin looked at him, his chin jutting out proudly. “No, it’s a kilt. But so what if I was?”

Arthur shrugged. “I was just curious. I mean, I seem to remember you paid an awful lot of attention to women’s clothing back when…”

Merlin’s cheeks reddened and he looked away, chewing on his lip. 

“Hey, it looks good on you...” Arthur said, smiling as he pulled Merlin towards him. When they were were face to face, he brushed his lips against Merlin’s. “I’m just a bit confused as to why.”

“Because," replied Merlin. And then he smiled mischievously. “You’ll see why. You’re honestly not going to wear anything special?” 

Arthur checked his pocket for the wallet Merlin had given him as they started to approach the door. A wallet, Merlin had had to explain to him, was used to store the plastic money that was now used in exchange for items and services in this modern world. Rather than gold. He was not a particularly big fan of these notes, but he did have to admit it was much lighter than carrying a pouch of coins wherever you went.

“I am,” Arthur replied, gesturing to his Pride coloured “Love is not a choice” T-Shirt.

With a sigh Merlin pressed another kiss to his lips. “I wish you'd wear something a bit more... But then again, I guess I did promise to ease you into it. Let’s go.”

***

At the parade, Arthur watched Merlin jumping around in the crowd with a fond smile. He couldn’t really say that he was enjoying himself, large amounts of people were still a bit touch and go for him. He wasn’t used to how _fast_ everything was in this new world, and this seemed excessively so. There were so many people all around them everywhere they turned. And the parade itself was an endless assault of noise and colours and images seemingly with no end or break in sight. But Merlin was happy, and that in turn, made Arthur happy. He could deal with it all for an afternoon. He could deal with it for Merlin.

They rarely went into the city these days. A few months after he had returned, things had become too much for Arthur to adapt to. Despite Merlin’s best efforts, Arthur struggled to cope. He missed peace and quiet. He couldn’t deal with the fact that he never seemed to experience actual silence in the busy and lively city. And Arthur had wanted to have a purpose. He wanted to do something with his life. He wanted exercise and fresh, clean air that didn’t choke him or smell funny. 

They talked about moving to the countryside. Merlin joked that they should get a farm, but Arthur immediately agreed with him. It seemed like the perfect solution to all his difficulties adapting to his new life. So they went ahead and did it. They purchased a small farm in a rural area of Sussex and then they spent most of their time there. He and Merlin still kept a small flat in London for visiting the city and for when they wanted a change of pace. But most of the time they enjoyed their peaceful and quiet life on their idyllic little farm. 

Arthur had thrived on it all. He loved the solitude and the slower pace of life. He loved the work and having living things to care for. It suited him down to the ground and Merlin had continued to be endlessly patient with him. Teaching him how to do pretty much everything, all over again. And that was on top of teaching about everything that was new.

When Merlin had mentioned that Pride was coming up, Arthur thought back to his first few weeks in London and all the flags he’d seen in the shops. He had been so naive and more than a little oblivious then. He’d grown a lot this past year. And he wanted to know more about Pride. Merlin’s face had lit up when Arthur had said that they should go and he asked Merlin to tell him more. 

Merlin hadn’t said much about his previous attendances of these parades and Arthur had been afraid to ask, because he wasn’t sure he would like the answer. But from looking around he could see that both he and Merin both fit in, in their own ways. Some of the people here were dressed extremely flamboyantly, and others were dressed more simply, like him. 

In fact, Arthur hadn’t really wanted to ask Merlin anything relating to his past. Especially when it came to his previous relationships, if indeed he had had them (and Arthur had a feeling that he had, because Merlin had certainly seemed to know exactly what to do in the bedroom... So i seemed only logical to assume that he had). Because ever since he'd returned Arthur had become aware of the fact that he had a jealous streak a mile long when it came to Merlin, and he found himself gritting his teeth at even the idea that Merlin might have had intimate relationships with other men. That said, he was still interested to see what exactly Merlin and the other people like them would get up to at Pride. He felt a bit like an observer rather than a participant. 

Colourful, loud and racious vehicles continued rumbling by, blaring out music so loud that it made his head ache and Arthur was sure he would never be able to hear again. He watched partly with awe and fascination, and partly with embarrassment, at the scantily clad men who were gyrating and dancing with each other on the platform passing them by. Arthur wasn’t a prude—he and Merlin had gotten up to some pretty eye opening and enlightening things over the past year—but he wasn’t really sure that he would have the nerve to be so publicly… well, sexual. He had just about reached the point of being okay holding hands in public and the odd kiss on the cheek. And he is extremely happy being naked with Merlin in the privacy of their own place. But he's certainly not ready for anything more than that. Despite that, he certainly admired the men on the float for their courage to be so bold.

As the afternoon wore on, the sun shining down on them as the alcohol and other things flowed freely around them, Arthur felt his headache build. He was starting to feel increasingly trapped and panicky. He took deep long breaths, trying to calm himself and ward off a panic attack .He wasn’t used to being around so much mental stimulation and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take it. But Merlin was having so much fun, he was determined not to ruin the day for him.

“Hey,” said Merlin softly, in a quieter moment between the floats. He looked at Arthur with soft, concerned eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Arthur replied.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Merlin told him, as he slid both his hands into Arthur’s. “We should go home.”

“But you’re having such a great time!” Arthur protested. “And I’m _fine_.”

“Arthur, I’m not so selfish as to want a good time when my boyfriend,” they both smiled at that, “isn’t coping well. We’ll go home.”

“Honestly, I’m—”

Merlin gave him a sly grin and guided Arthur’s hand underneath the hem of his kilt and Arthur’s breath hitched at the feeling of warm skin suddenly beneath his fingertips.

“Wha— Why aren’t you wearing any—”

“It’s tradition to never wear anything under a kilt,” grinned Merlin. He gasped when Arthur slid his hand fully under the kilt to fondle his arse.

“But—But—” began Arthur, before he dove in for a kiss. Unable to resist Merlin's full plush lips. “Fuck...”

Arthur was the first to break the kiss and he grabbed Merlin firmly by the hand. “Let’s go,” he told him as he started to push his way through the crowd to leave.

***

No sooner was the door opened with Merlin and Arthur stumbling into their flat, had Arthur shoved Merlin up against the wall. Arthur pushed Merlin's kilt up around his waist and then slid his hand up Merlin’s thigh to cup his arse as his tongue invaded Merlin’s mouth.

“Fucking hell, Merlin. You don’t know what you do to me,” Arthur groaned, as he moved one hand to enclose around Merlin’s cock. Merlin cried out, his head tilted back against the wall. “I can’t believe you did that to me. Do you know how _hard_ I’ve been? I was nursing a semi all the way home! I’m gonna make you pay for it.” 

“Counting on it,” Merlin groaned as Arthur tightened his grip and Merlin fisted Arthur’s hair.

“Bedroom,” Arthur told him.

“Kilt on or off?” Merlin asked as they raced down the hall.

“Oh Gods, on, Merlin. Always on.”


End file.
